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Hollister, CA – Berry People has announced the start of its organic strawberry season from Baja California in Mexico, having recently completed a successful first year of operations. These top-quality strawberries,… Read full story →

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Posts Tagged “California avocado shipments”

LGS Specialty Sales of New Rochelle, N.Y., is importing more Spanish fruit including lemons, clementines and Vanilla Persimmons, also known as rojo brillante.

LGS also imports and distributes citrus, grapes and avocados. The Spanish fruit is grown in the Valencia and Murcia regions. The company imports lemons from Spain year-round.

“Spain’s Mediterranean climate consistently grows exceptional fruit and we are excited to export more of their products to provide the U.S. market with top-quality produce year-round,” Rebekah McMurrain, persimmons category manager at LGS, said in a news release. “Both Spanish lemons and ready-to-eat Vanilla Persimmons are favorite varieties in Europe and we are pleased to offer them to U.S shoppers.”

The Vanilla Persimmon, a hybrid of the hachiya and fuyu varieties, is available now through February, according to the release. Like the fuyu, it is ready to eat.

California Avocados

California avocado shipments for the 2018-19 season are expected to plunge by nearly 50 percent compared to the 2017-18 season. The California Avocado Commission 2018-19 preseason crop estimate for all varieties is 175 million pounds, with 167 million pounds of the hass variety.

The lower volume is due to various weather factors including a severe heat wave in July 2018.

Because of the expected drop in shipments, most avocado loads will be destined to California and other western markets.

Shipments will be building into March with peak availability from April through August.

Fewer Mexican avocado shipments are expected through September as there will be a transition from the old to the new crop.

Mission Produce Inc. of Oxnard, CA expects both the size of the fruit as well as the tonnage out of Mexico to be off a little through most of the month of September as the industry moves into the flora loca — or off-bloom — avocado crop, which bridges the gap between the old crop and the aventajada crop, which will get underway in the fall.

The company does not expect to see huge tonnage from the flora loca crop, although the fruit size should be fairly normal, but will lean toward the smaller sizes.

Although finding big fruit was a challenge in August and continues to be in September, for a driver hauling product, it doesn’t matter.

There also is expected to be higher quality avocados from the flora loca crop, than with the old crop, where the percentage of No. 2-grade fruit exceeded 20 percent.

Calavo Growers Inc. of Santa Paula, CA has noted the current summer crop from Mexico is pretty good, but it is not great. However, the company expects to see good volume out of Mexico this fall, similar to last year.

2016 was the first year Mexico had a smaller crop for export to the U.S., and now Mexico is coming back with its second good crop in a row.

The Giumarra Cos. of Los Angeles observes the Mexico avocado season has several blooms, allowing the country to ship product the year-round. As a result, Giumarra and many other U.S. avocado shippers rely heavily on Mexico.

Currently, California avocado shipments are winding down as the season comes to a close. Meanwhile, the Mexican flora loca crop is comparatively light. This is very typical as July, August and September always have fewer avocado shipments.

Riverside, C.A. — California avocado shipments are is well underway, with strong weeks occurring since March and promotable volumes ahead for the remainder of the season. Excellent quality has been driving strong demand as California Hass fills retailer shelves and enhances restaurant offerings.

The California harvest is estimated to be about a third complete, leaving Hass volume for the summer into September. Volume was available for strong shipments leading up to the key avocado holidays of Memorial Day and the 4th of July and will be good as well for Labor Day. Index Fresh is excited about providing quality fruit and promotional support for these summer celebrations.

Index Fresh rolled out the first GEM program in mid-April with positive support from retail and growers. The GEM is a new variety with exciting visual, flavor and peelability attributes, that presents an opportunity to excite the consumer and expand the avocado category as a complement to Hass.

The 2018 California season is off to a strong start, with tremendous opportunity ahead for the rest of the year.

ABOUT INDEX FRESH

Index Fresh is a worldwide marketer of avocados, sourcing from all major growing regions around the globe, including California, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. Through its dedication to quality, consistency, and innovation, Index Fresh continues to be a leader in the industry. Over the years the company has earned its reputation for quality and integrity with an unwavering commitment to honesty, hard work, and providing outstanding results to their partners — growers and trade alike.

Headquartered in California, the company has facilities spread across Texas, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, Colorado, and Illinois. Early this year, Index Fresh also started operations at its new packing, bagging, and ripening facility in Pharr, TX.

California has avocados commercially produced by more than 2,000 growers in the golden state.

2018 will be a big rebound for California avocado shipments, if some observers are correct. Conventional avocado volume is expected to hit 2.275 billion pounds in 2017.

The Hass Avocado Board of Mission Viejo, CA believes there will be a 90 million-pound increase from 2,189 billion pounds in 2016. There should be a lot more avocados for hauling next year, with early projections ranging from 400 million to 425 million pounds. Those statistics include avocados from California, Peru, Chile and the Dominican Republic.

Mexico exported 1.7 billion pounds of avocados to the U.S. the shipping year ending in June, which was off from the original estimate of almost 2 billion pounds.

U.S. avocado volume has been increasing an average of about 15 percent over the past 10 to 15 years, but 2017 was the first year when the total shipments declined.

As supplies of California and Peruvian fruit taper off in late August and into early September, loading opportunities will be limited until Mexico’s aventajada crop starts ramping up in September. California’s 200-million-pound crop was about half the size of last year’s.

With Mexico’s next crop starting in September, it is expected to significantly boost loading opportunities with an expected 1,000 or more trucks per week. Mexico will hit its stride after Labor Day,with 45 million to 50 million-pound being shipped a week.

Peru doubled its exports to the U.S. this year compared to 2016, according to the Peruvian Avocado Commission in Washington, D.C.

Peruvian growers will export 140 million pounds of avocados to the U.S. this summer, compared with 70 million pounds last year, and next year’s crop should be even larger.

About Hass Avocado Board

The Hass Avocado Board (HAB) is an agriculture promotion group established in 2002 to promote the consumption of Hass Avocados in the United States. A 12-member board representing domestic producers and importers of Hass Avocados directs HAB’s promotion, research and information programs under supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture. Funding for HAB comes from Hass avocado producers and importers in the United States.

Ventura County cabbage and greens – grossing about $6900 to New York City.

While rain drenched California citrus isn’t having significant quality problems, that could change during the weeks ahead. Meanwhile, here’s a look at avocado shipments from Mexico and California.

The bottom line is citrus growers don’t know what long-term effect the recent rains will have on the crop as navels and cara cara navels hit peak loadings. Excessive rain and moisture can adversely affect low-hanging fruit on trees, so packinghouses are running a little slower to monitor spoilage.

While quality issues down the road are a question mark, more certainty is that the 2017 harvest will end earlier this season. Instead of lasting until the Fourth of July, shipments will end in early June.

Total tonnage harvested in 2017 is expected to be 15 to 19 percent less than a year ago.

Shipments of Mexican avocados through south Texas in February this year totaled about 135.1 million pounds (3,3375 truck loads), compared with 166.25 million pounds (4,150) shipped in February last year.

U.S. volume of hass avocados from all sources (California and Mexico) in March will total about 187 million pounds (4,675 truck loads), down from about 199.3 million pounds (4,975 truck loads) in March 2016.

Southern California avocados shipments have been delayed by rains this season, although the state’s volume is light compared with Mexico. Only about 4 percent of total shipments in late came from California.

Mexico’s crop estimate has been reduced to 1.6 billion pounds (55,000 truck loads) and final estimates may be even less.

Mexico is shipping about 30 million pounds per week (750 truck loads) compared with normal volumes in the 40 million pounds (1,000 truck loads) per week range as supplies are quickly running out.

Still, Mexico is expected during the next six to eight weeks to ship between 27 million (675 truck loads) to 32 million pounds per week,

California avocado shipments should end its season with about 195 million (4,875 truck loads) compared to nearly 400 million pounds in 2016. Larger avocado crops are often followed by smaller crops the next year.

California loadings could increase by mid-March and into April to 8 to 10 million pounds per week. This would compare to shipments as high as 15 million pounds per week a year ago.

Imported Mexican avocados, tropical fruits and vegetables through South Texas – grossing about $2700 to Chicago.

Washington state apple shipments are expected to be down a little this season. Meanwhile, Mexican avocado loadings to the U.S. are increasing.

A forecast of 132.9 million boxes of fresh apples has been made for the for 2016-17 shipping season, up 15 percent from last year’s 115 million box crop. However, this is down 6 percent from 2014’s record 141.8 million boxes.

Reflecting a smaller crop, overall exports for the 2015-16 crop year were off about 30 percent from the record 2014-15 season. Current season to date shipments through mid July were about 29.7 million cartons, down from 44.3 million cartons the same time in 2015.

Exports for both Canada and Mexico totaled 52 percent of all exports. The top three U.S. apple export markets for 2015-16 were Mexico, Canada and India. With the bigger 2016 Washington crop, this year should be a bounce-back season for Washington exports.

Yakima Valley apples – grossing about $5200 to Atlanta.

Avocado Shipments

Untimely rains in California resulted in avocado shipments being down on the summer crop. Meanwhile, the primary Mexican avocado shipments are yet to ramp up.

Through June, yearly volumes were running well ahead of last year’s pace, with 660 million pounds shipping during the three months of April, May and June alone, up from 549 million pounds in the same period the previous year.

However, in July and August, volumes fell 15 percent, from 378 million pounds in 2015 to 320 million pounds this year. Shipments are expected to be approaching normal by November.

As of Sept. 14, primary Mexican avocado shipments were running two or three weeks behind last year’s crop, though volumes were ramping up in the first half of the month. It is projected about 81.5 million pounds would ship in the first two weeks of September, down just slightly from the same period last year.

The summer California avocado shipments will likely wind up being just two-thirds the size of the preseason estimates, due to rains starting in mid-June, more than a month later than normal.

It still is likely be the first week of October before Mexican imports by the U.S. begin ramping up, with loadings moving into the 40 million to 45 million pound-per-week range.

Shipments of both avocado and mangoes are on the rise and will continue to increase as we get further into the year.

California avocado shipments are now providing steady loadings for produce truckers from both southern California and the San Joaquin Valley. The California harvest is now exceeding 10 million pounds per week and will continue to increase through the spring. Shipments are expected to peak in late June, and remain strong throughout 2016. A significant dip in avocado shipments is not expected until after the Super Bowl, Feb. 5, 2017, in Houston.

While California avocado shipments tend to be hauled to markets in the western half of the U.S., much of the avocado supply for U.S. markets is coming from Mexico, which tends to serve destinations in the eastern half of the U.S. Mexican avocado shipments also are heavy this year, with the majority of imports crossing the border at McAllen, Tx.

Huron head lettuce and San Joaquin Valley citrus – grossing about $5600 to New York City.

Mango Imports

Mexican mango shipments imported to the USA were unseasonably low during March. For the week ending on March 19, 1.2 million boxes arrived from Mexico, making it 4.8 million boxes for the season. That is down from the same week in 2015, when 1.5 million boxes arrived and 5.9 million boxes had come in for the season. However, mango imports are now on the rise and big volume supplies are crossing the border from Mexico, as well as arriving at US ports by boat from Guatemala.

Only one state is shipping more potatoes than Colorado right now, plus soaring shipments are possible for the new California avocado shipping season.

Colorado is averaging around 750 truck loads of potatoes being shipped weekly, second only to Idaho. Colorado’s San Luis Valley has remained relatively stable in recent years, with a 4-5 percent fluctuation depending on rotation of the crops.

In 2o15 plantings for the crop, which are now being shipped stood at 51,000 acres. Conventional spuds took up 47,000 acres, and organics accounted for 4,000 acres. Russets amounted to 38,540 acres in conventionals and 3,280 in organics. There were 2,820 acres in conventional red potatoes and 240 acres in organics. Yellows had 3,290 acres in conventional and 280 in organics. Specialty potatoes had 2,350 acres in conventional, 200 in organics.

Colorado has finally been getting decent rains and snow packs and looking ahead to the 2016 planting and growing seasons, a lot of people are optimistic there will be a good crop and shipments.

Colorado potato shipments grossing about $1700 to Dallas.

California Avocado Shipments

The upcoming California avocado crop is projected to be 392.5 million pounds, which amounts to a 40 percent increase in shipments from last year. Rains in California have certainly helped, plus the alternate-bearing nature of the trees is expected to have an effect on this year’s crop. The Hass variety, California’s main avocado variety, tends to have a heavy crop, followed by lighter volume the next season. During the last two years, California avocado shipments have been lighter and the trees are ready to produce again.

Shipments of California avocados start to build up in March with peak loadings occurring between April and August with availability into September and October.

California grape shipments should continue through December, but your chances of claims or rejected loads may be increasing as late season quality problems are reported.

Confidence in the product is declining as complaints from retailers ranging from poor color on red grapes to decay and condition issues on all varieties are rising. As a result wholesalers are managing increased volumes of fruit that fail to make a satisfactory arrival to retailers. It is recommended drivers check grape quality at shipping point and make sure your receivers know what is being delivered. Meanwhile, meaningful arrivals of imported Chilean grapes won’t occur until January.

San Joaquin Valley grapes, carrots and kiwi – grossing about $3800 to Chicago.

Northwest Pear Shipments

The preseason estimate of 20 million boxes for Northwest pear shipments — 2 percent less than in 2014-15 — already has fallen to about 19 million boxes and could drop even more. In late November some shippers were transitioning into red anjous, and volumes were picking up significantly after Thanksgiving.

There are also some volumes of boscs now being shipped. Bartlett pear shipments should wrap up in February, while Boscs should ship into April and anjous into July.

Yakima Valley, WA apples and pears – grossing about $5000 to Houston

California Avocado Shipments

California Avocado shipments remain significantly higher than last year, but volume fell off sharply in late November.

About 27.9 million pounds of avocados were shipped in the U.S. the week ending November 28th, down from 48.3 million pounds the week before and from 35.3 million pounds in the same week in 2014, according to the USDA.

For the year, 781 million pounds had shipped through Nov. 28, up from 660 million pounds at that time last year.

Southern California avocados, citrus, peppers and tomatoes – grossing about $5900 to New York City.

Here’s a national shipping round up on imported bananas, grapes and avocados from California, as well as Eastern apples.

Banana imports, particularly from Gulfport, MS, are expected to increase as fall kicks in and summer peaches, strawberries and other fruit shipments decline. Banana imports are generally expected to be stable for the next several months from such countries as Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Peru.

Grape loadings in mid-October were similar to last year with about 79.8 million pounds of grapes shipped in the U.S. the week ending October 10th, up slightly from 79.1 million pounds in the same week in 2014. Season-to-date, about 2.34 billion pounds had been shipped through October 10th, up from 2.23 billion pounds last year.

Central San Joaquin Valley grape and other produce shipments – grossing about $5200 of Atlanta.

California Avocado Shipments

Avocado shipments were up significantly in mid-October with about 50.8 million pounds of avocados shipped in the U.S. in the week ending October 10th, up from 32.1 million pounds last year at the same time. Season-to-date volumes also are up, climbing from 706 million pounds through October 10th, 2014, to 795 million pounds this year.

Apple shippers east of the Mississippi River are reporting brisk movement, in part, due to less volume expected out of Washington state this season.

As of mid-October, New York apple shipments were on schedule to meet, if not exceed, the preseason estimate of 27.5 million boxes. While no record shipments are being forecast, the volume is in line with the 5-year average for shipments.

Michigan also is having strong demand for its apples, and is running ahead of last year in terms of shipments. Harvest should be completed by the end of this month.

Western Michigan apple shipments – grossing about $800 to Chicago.

Hudson Valley New York apple shipments – grossing about $2400 to Orlando.

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Hollister, CA – Berry People has announced the start of its organic strawberry season from Baja California in Mexico, having recently completed a successful first year of operations. These top-quality strawberries,… Read full story →

Texas produce growers are currently harvesting and shipping melons, citrus and other crops to supermarkets mostly throughout the Eastern half of the country. When the Lone Star State producers of… Read full story →